The enlargement of the European Union to the countries of central and eastern Europe has underlined a series of questions about the European neighbourhood; those European countries, which are not members of the Union. Some of these are old questions like where does Europe end; many are new like what is the impact of the recent enlargement on the Union's European neighbours. The break-up of the Soviet Union and the successful transformation of the new Member States into stable democracies with market economies has also changed the political and economic environment in eastern Europe and led some of the new states to seek much closer relations with the EU. The answers to these questions are vital for the definition of policy both within the Union and in the neighbouring European states.

The 'Wider Europe Research Programme' is an interdisciplinary programme at Sussex European Institute which seeks to analyse these important questions. Research interests currently are:

• Local Politics in the Polish-Ukrainian frontier region and the impact of European Union integration
• Electoral politics in Ukraine
• The impact of European integration on the administrative system in Ukraine
• FDI and the transition in Eastern Europe
• the development of free trade areas between the EU and the countries of eastern Europe (specificially Ukraine)

The Programme is co-convened by Professor Alan Mayhew at the Sussex European Institute, Nathaniel Copsey at Aston University and Christophe Hillion, from the University of Leiden.

The research programme is accompanied by a series of Conferences partially funded through the Jean Monnet Chair held by Professor Alan Mayhew. The Conferences are an essential part of the network of academics, politicians, diplomats, businessmen, lawyers and civil servants who meet annually to discuss policy developments in eastern Europe and the European Union.

For more information on our publications and events, got to http://www.wider-europe.org/. If you require any further information, or would like enquire about sponsorship packages, please contact Nathaniel Copsey n.copsey@aston.ac.uk